This invention relates generally to devices for training a golfer to execute a golf swing, and more particularly to a training device for physically experiencing, practicing and committing to memory numerous aspects of the body""s movement during a golf swing. Additionally, this invention relates to a method of golf swing instruction using such a training device.
The difficult task of producing a repeatable golf swing has been the elusive goal of golfers, both amateur and professional, since the early days of the game. There have been great advancements in golf club and golf ball technology. There exists golf clubs with oversize sweet spots that help propel even slightly mishit golf balls in a straight or intended direction. These clubs can now be constructed of titanium and other materials to provide increased distance when striking a golf ball. State-of-the-art golf clubs have shafts composed of carbon fiber and/or graphite materials for increased distance and less shock to the hands and arms of the golfer. However, despite these technologies, a golfer who lacks a proper repeatable golf swing is destined for inconsistency and frustration in the pursuit of golfing success and enjoyment.
The sequence of actions and elements that comprise a golf swing is affected by many factors. For example, a golfer desires to hit a ball 175 yards with a 5-iron golf club. The hitting area of the face of this golf club is 2.5 inches, and the diameter of the golf ball is 1.68 inches. The weight of the golf club, which at rest is typically about 14.5 ounces, builds up a dynamic pulling weight of approximately 100 pounds during a 1.5 second swing while being swung at a peak speed of about 90 miles an hour through its arc of approximately 18 feet. The ball is on the club face for only 0.00035 of a second and must be launched at an angle of 42xc2x0. These factors considered with the influences of wind, the quality of the lie of the ball, the fatigue and concentration of the golfer, and other variables and conditions make consistent ball striking and delivery a very daunting task. While the golfer cannot do anything to effect the influence of the wind or other external factors and complexities of the game of golf, he or she can, by developing a consistent and repeatable golf swing, consistently control the flight pattern of the ball, its trajectory, the amount of spin or curve, and the distance that the ball travels. There are numerous elements of a golf swing that have a dynamic influence on the club. These include the alignment of the body at address, the position of the feet, hips, torso and head, the alignment of the arms, the alignment of the hands on the grip, the grip pressure, the relationship of the address position to the ball and the target, the takeaway and subsequent swing plane of the club, the tempo of the swing, the arm extension, the backswing, the subsequent rotation or xe2x80x9ccoilingxe2x80x9d of the body with full shouldered turn, the uncoiling of the body, the weight shift, the downswing, the ball impact, the hand release, the arm extension, the followthrough, the finish and numerous other factors.
Ultimately, a repeatable golf swing can be defined as a fluid chain reaction of good positions. The consistently successful golfer learns to understand, recognize and control the dynamic interface between the golfer, the club, the ball, external forces (lie, wind, weather and other playing conditions) and the target. This can only be achieved by the diligent study and understanding of the game, the swing, the proper frame of mind and effective practice.
Accordingly, there is a need for a training device and method of training to assist golfers in the development of proper technique and muscle memory to achieve a consistently repeatable and effective golf swing. Devices for swing training and teaching proper gripping of a golf club are known in the art, but these devices do not address enough of the technical elements of the swing to be completed effective.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,351,346 to Strahan discloses a golf swing training device. This swing training device has a bent shaft and weighted end displaced from a golf swing center line with a weight that encircles the shaft and can be adjusted vertically thereon. Strahan""s swing training device is used to retrain a golfer to perform an inside-out golf swing thus correcting only a single aspect of the swing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,147 to Olsen discloses a training device with a contoured grip to accommodate a golfer""s fingers and facilitate exact hand positioning. The device is incorporated with a bent shaft and weighted club head. However this technology can aid only in a few aspects of the swing.
These prior patents are illustrative of attempts that have been made to create a golf swing training device that can aid the golfer in his or her attempt to achieve a repeatable and proper golf swing and a proper grip. Heretofore, however, no comprehensive swing training device has existed that effectively addresses a full range of elements for achieving a proper golf swing and committing the mechanics of such a swing to muscle memory.
The present invention provides a dynamic swing training device and method for progressively conditioning muscle memory to achieve a consistently repeatable and proper golf swing. The golf swing training device of the present invention in its preferred embodiment is similar to a conventional golf club with an elongated shaft and a handle at one end, but modified to provide a unique dynamic hand, arm and body action during the swing. In the case of a right-handed golfer, the device handle is grasped by the left hand of the trainee, and a slidable grip is provided for grasping by the right hand of the trainee. The slidable grip is slidable longitudinally with respect to the shaft so that the right hand moves progressively down the shaft during the backswing and then progressively back into proximity with the left hand during the downswing. At address the hands are in close proximity as with a conventional golf grip in the address position, then the hands separate during the backswing and return into proximity just prior to the point of impact on the downswing and remain in such proximity during followthrough.
The preferred method using the golf swing training device of the present invention causes the trainee to commit to muscle memory several important aspects and positions of a proper golf swing complemented by the ability to separate the hands during the backswing. For example, the golf swing training device enables the trainee to maintain a substantially straight left arm while at the same time achieving a full shoulder turn and right arm cocking position. Once these two opposing motions have become instinctive through the training method, the trainee can keep the hands together in a conventional golf swing while achieving both proper left arm position and full shoulder turn consistent with the proper golf swing. In the downswing using the preferred golf swing training device, the trainee learns to feel the dynamics of a full club extension and arc that helps facilitate maximum club head velocity and squaring of the club face at the point of impact. The natural wrist roll action that the golf swing training device of the present invention teaches enables the trainee to reproduce a powerful downswing and followthrough. Additionally, it teaches proper stretch for optimum power, proper swing tempo, a desirable inside-out swing, proper body angle at impact, and proper grip alignment during the downswing.
Accordingly, a principal object of the present invention is to provide a golf swing training device having a slidable grip for one hand that permits the hands to separate progressively during the backswing and come back into proximity during the downswing prior to the point of impact in the swing.
Another important object of the invention is to provide a method of training using the training device of the present invention repeatedly to imprint in the mind aspects of an effective golf swing. Yet another important object of the present invention is to provide a golf swing training device having a slidable grip for one hand that permits the hands, from any proximity, to separate progressively during the backswing and come back into proximity during the downswing and come back into proximity during the downswing prior to the point of impact in the swing and that upon return to proximity dynamically align and realign the hand positions of the golfer thereby influencing the golfer into the proper fundamental positions of a golf swing. This effects a xe2x80x98mental imprintingxe2x80x99 of such proper fundamental positions into the xe2x80x98movement memoryxe2x80x99 of the golfer. Once imprinted into the golfer""s mind in such a manner the golfer can now execute such dynamically memorized positions and alignments reflexively with a conventional golf club thereby executing a proper and fundamental golf swing.